News Features

Does the Constitution have a curfew? Local activists say free speech doesn’t stop at 11 pm, but Lane County has designated the Wayne Morse Free Speech Plaza as closed to free speech and other activities after hours. In Bethlehem there was no room at the inn for the mother of Jesus, and in Eugene there’s no room for free speech at the Free Speech Plaza.

Jordan Creek runs through the Mattson family’s land at Polyrock Ranch. The creek is located in the out in the open hills of southwest Eugene, in the Coyote Creek sub-basin of the Long Tom Watershed. The creek is symbolic of the Rivers to Ridges (R2R) partnership, a collaboration of public and private entities working together to acquire and manage natural open spaces in and around Eugene.

Greenhouse gas emissions are still increasing: Yearly increases were 2.7 percent in the 1990s, 3.5 percent between 2000 and 2007, and 5.6 percent between 2009 and 2010. But nothing effective is being done to reduce them. There are multiple reasons for that:

The recent tragic Sandy Hook school shooting has called attention not only to gun control, but also to how the U.S. deals with young people who are behaviorally or mentally challenged. One controversial method that some Eugene 4J schools are using to deal with students in its behavioral programs is to put them in seclusion rooms.

The lush and productive Courthouse Garden east of the U.S. Courthouse in Eugene has garnered national attention as an innovative collaboration between the city of Eugene, the University of Oregon, local businesses and the judicial system, but it may get bulldozed and paved over if a local credit union or another private business buys the 1.9 acres of city-owned property.

Developers have tried repeatedly to turn the steep-sloped land into houses. Each application has been defeated, but the developers keep trying. The Nobles have started the Be Noble Foundation in order to save the Beverly property and turn it into a permanent part of Eugene’s parks and open spaces.

Robert Kuttner, economist and co-founder of The American Prospect, says the magazine was founded “deliberately to be a strong liberal voice,” and he adds, “I think the role of magazine like ours is to put forward ideas, to put forward a perspective on the election but to do so consistent with accuracy.”

Timber Town growls and belches mostly outside of Tree Town’s collective consciousness. Conscious of it or not, we find our air is fouled by biomass burners, wood and paper processing gases and log treatment vapors.

“I had a 2-year-old son, and I was concerned. I became one of those parents who worries about these vaccinations.”

Catherine Clinton, a local naturopathic doctor, is just one of countless parents who’ve experienced misgivings related to the risks associated with vaccinations — and with forgoing those vaccinations — particularly in regard to immunizing infants and children against preventable diseases.

It’s a barfing-puppy-sounding acronym, and the prospect of either granting or not granting the MUPTE — Multiple Unit Property Tax Exemption — to the proposed private 1,200-student housing complex at 13th and Olive makes a lot of people sick for a number of reasons.

Some know him as a co-founder of the Weather Underground, aka the Weathermen, a Vietnam-era group that bombed public buildings in protest of the war. Still others know him as a respected author, thinker and professor of education, even as the writer of a comic book.

THE PERSONAL PRICE OF CARE

Taking care of a loved one — or someone else’s loved one — is a virtuous thing, and that’s something that Eugeneans of all stripes can agree on. So why are caretakers so frequently economically penalized for their work?